Do you Have to have a skimmer on a SPS tank?
- Thread starter WXB
- Start date
SPSEMPIRE
New member
oh sorry, I was very vague in the previous post.
Yes, turn your skimmer on and keep it running 24/7. If you turn it off for a few days, probably nothing is going to happen. Long term, you need some effective way to export nutrients.
I know of an aquacultured acro greenhouse and the guy running the place saids that the he has never ran a skimmer on the system. With that being said, he has nothing but ugly brown sticks. They are healthy and encrusting but are all brown.
Yes, turn your skimmer on and keep it running 24/7. If you turn it off for a few days, probably nothing is going to happen. Long term, you need some effective way to export nutrients.
I know of an aquacultured acro greenhouse and the guy running the place saids that the he has never ran a skimmer on the system. With that being said, he has nothing but ugly brown sticks. They are healthy and encrusting but are all brown.
WXB
New member
awwww i see. I have a fug going with it. I have been told by my saltwater guy (pet store owner 35 years of doing saltwater) said that having it one helps more than anything but will i have to add more suppliments because of the skimmer. everthing i read doesnt tell me i will have to or i wont have to or maybe or anything. thats my big question more than anything. I know i takes out the crap but will it mess with the supplements i put in every week? OH any special sups to add. I do the calcium & Strontium & Molybdenum & iodine to the SPS tank. Anything else i should be adding?
MammothReefer
Active member
Really depends on your husbandry level, and your bio load. No offense you sound a bit new to the reef tank world. What is your WC schedule? Have you kept salt water tanks before? Soft Corals, Lps? If the answer is no, I would stay FAR away from SPS at least until you've been in the hobby for a year or so...or you will just be throwing money down the toilet. Do so reasearch online, read all the sticky's.. really get a good understanding of the requirements of SPS. You're talking stronium, Molybednum, all of which you don't need to dose w/regular water changes. Are you testing for these things? You need to get the basics on lock first before you can even think about SPS.. Salinity, Temp, Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, Nitrate, and Phosphates.
jcolletteiii
New member
I have also seen several reef tanks with heavy SPS with no skimmer that had great growth/coloration - one of which had NEVER run a skimmer in the 2-3 yrs the tank has been up. Personally, I run a skimmer - but I control it (as well as an external filter) with my apex to run only 10 hrs during the night. I don't think I'd try going totally skimmerless.
WXB
New member
See here is the thing. I have been doing this stuff for many years now. I have just started DOING SPS in the past few weeks. Everything up intill now has just been reading. Now that it is up and going i want to make sure what i am doing is good. A skimmer came with the tank. I was intending on turning it on. I just wanted to know turn it on asap or down the road will be good enough. I just want to know is there anything else i should be adding every week that i am not adding?
Alex T.
Active member
I know that Leng Sy (founder of Miracle Mud) runs a few systems with SPS that have never had a skimmer. His coloration seems fine, and polyp extension is good. There are large refugiums with chaetomorpha and "miracle mud" in his sumps that supposedly extract the necessary nutrients and feed the tank. His tanks never appeared crystal clear because he never runs carbon either. I think if someone chooses to run a system without a skimmer that there is much larger chance for error should something go wrong.
Once you run a good skimmer and see what comes out of it, I doubt you'd dump it back in the tank because it pulled out too much "good stuff".
Once you run a good skimmer and see what comes out of it, I doubt you'd dump it back in the tank because it pulled out too much "good stuff".
WXB
New member
Alex that last part makes a great point. The HQI come with the Biocube skimmer. As far as the stuff that Oceanic puts out i only love the lights nothing will ever change that. The hoods for the biocube SUCK period. the Skimmer i hooked it up finaly and the air pump is Driving Me Crazy. is there any set amount of air pump you should can use? I have extra air pumps but can you just hook up any air pump? I have never used skimmers i know what they are for and so on. Can or should i increase the amount of air flow?? I just want to have the best SPS tank that i can have. The SPS world is new to me and i just want to do it right. I have been doing salt for quite some time i understand the ins and outs but i am humble enough to know when to ask questions. If you guys can help me out with this New world of SPS that would be great.
gon08
New member
WXB this is a very versatile hobby and there are many methods for maintaining reef tanks. I've been at this since the late 80's and seen methods come and go. Many of them are trendy, some are simple and some are ridiculously expensive. The one thing they all have in common is that they all work and they all fail, what works for me may not work for you. You're gonna find that a lot of your success will come from trial and error and eventually you will find the method that works best for you.
This is an awesome hobby so learn as much as you can but more important have fun with it.
This is an awesome hobby so learn as much as you can but more important have fun with it.
Alex T.
Active member
From experience I can tell you that whatever changes you make....do them slowly.
See how each component you add or take away has an affect on your system. If you do too many of these things at once, you'll never pinpoint what worked for you. And what's more, you won't know which one to eliminate should there be a problem or hurdle. Go slow.
I've heard that reeftanks are like race cars. Bad things only happen to them when you go fast.
See how each component you add or take away has an affect on your system. If you do too many of these things at once, you'll never pinpoint what worked for you. And what's more, you won't know which one to eliminate should there be a problem or hurdle. Go slow.
I've heard that reeftanks are like race cars. Bad things only happen to them when you go fast.
MammothReefer
Active member
I wouldn't run w/out a skimmer. You might get away with it for a while but if for any random reason you end up with a bacteria bloom you will crash the entire tank.
marinelife
Active member
No you do not have to, I am skimmerless and have been for years! I do a water change once a month or so if that. You go slow and you will be fine!
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